Of approximately 1,200 bills being introduced this legislative session, Carson City School District Superintendent Andrew Feuling said, about 10% could impact the state’s schools.
Feuling gave a brief overview to the Carson City School Board at its March 11 meeting on key bills worth watching before the session closes in June:
Senate Bill 52, sponsored by the Senate Committee on Education, requires a district’s board of trustees to determine the percentage of certain students enrolled in the school district; revises the definition of pupils who are considered a “long-term English learner” for the purposes of certain reporting and revises certain factors considered in determining whether a pupil is eligible for a good-cause exemption to the requirement that the pupil be retained in grade three after not achieving a passing score on a uniform exam in reading.
“I think one of the realities is I think it’s widely accepted that how a student does on a test on a day doesn’t necessarily define everything about them and how good they are at anything specifically, and so looking at other ways to try to quantify how they are doing performing is always going to be a part of the discussion,” Feuling said.
Assembly Bill 184, sponsored by Assemblymember Natha Anderson, prohibits the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association from prohibiting athletic recruitment; revises provisions governing certain hearings and appeals conducted by the Association; revises provisions governing the eligibility of pupils who transfer schools to participate and practice in a sanctioned sport or other interscholastic activity or event; and provides penalties.
Feuling said schools in the state often can spend money recruiting athletes and the bill is a means of evening the playing field.
“I think it’s interesting at least that it’s being talked about,” Feuling said. “The NIAA is making some changes around the requirement and whether they have proposals internally to change some of the rules around kids transferring between schools. And so I think that may be a part of the discussion as far as what is NIAA going to do with that.”
AB24, sponsored by the Assembly Committee on Education, repeals the requirement for the Department of Education to establish a pilot program to provide competency-based education; authorizes certain entities to apply to the department for approval to provide a program of competency-based education; establishes requirements for programs of competency-based education approved by the department; and repeals the requirement for the department to conduct a public awareness campaign regarding competency-based education.
Competency-based education is the mastery of skills and knowledge through students’ chosen pathways and personal assessments rather than the number of hours spent in a classroom. Feuling said this notion is becoming more popular nationwide and is considered innovative, but there are drawbacks.
“Right now, there are some pilot districts that have been trying this out in various ways,” Feuling said. “It’s not without complication to move to this sort of thing, and as I understand, the bill, even if we wanted to do this, we would have to come to you for your understanding and approval to start making some adjustments like this. We’ve been with this kind of (traditional classroom) model we have now for over a hundred years; for anyone who’s alive, this is all they know.”
AB224, sponsored by Assemblymember Erica Mosca, requires the State Board of Finance to issue $100 million in general obligation bonds to make grants to certain school districts to finance capital improvements.
The bill requires funds to benefit school districts in counties with populations of less than 15,000. Feuling said White Pine County in particular has been lobbying since 1998 to get more funding and there had been one bill proposed at the time that set aside $25 million to build a new school for White Pine and in Lincoln County, but no funds have been available since then and lack the tax base to increase revenues.
“They’re looking at combining their middle school and high school into one new school because I think one of them’s 120 years old and one’s 108 years old, so they’re looking just to combine it and make it more efficient,” Feuling said. “But it’s still like a $60 million project that they can’t raise. We would struggle to raise $60 million, so for them it’s completely impossible.”
AB268, sponsored by Assemblymembers Sandra Jauregui and Shea Backus, is an act making an appropriation to the Nevada Department of Agriculture to award grants to school districts that would provide universal free meals for students.
Feuling said the cost is about $43 million and doesn’t cover the expenses of purchasing the meals but offsets the balance the federal government reimburses for them.
AB205, sponsored by Assemblymember Heather Goulding, revises provisions governing consent for students to participate in sexual education. Parents or guardians would have to opt out rather than opt in as the process currently is set, Feuling said.
Other bills to watch have to do with collective bargaining, licensing, outdoor education and trustee pay, among others, Feuling said.